Peyton Manning chose to not follow Archie to Ole Miss, heading to Tennessee. Eli did go to Oxford and will have the same honor his dad had as an Ole Miss football player.
The school announced Monday it will retire Eli Manning’s No. 10, joining No. 18 of his dad and the late Chucky Mullins’ No. 38 as the only numbers retired at the SEC school.
“We couldn’t be prouder or more excited to officially add Eli’s No. 10 to its rightful place among the retired jersey numbers in our football history,” Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter said. “Like Chucky and Archie, Eli left an indelible impact on our program and the game of football as a whole.
“His dedication, humility and kindness over the course of his career epitomizes what it means to be a Rebel, and we look forward to celebrating him as a player and a person.”
Eli Manning (pictured, far right) played at Ole Miss from 2000-03. He’s Ole Miss’ all-time leader in passing yards (10,119) and touchdowns (84) and is the only Ole Miss football player to be selected with the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, chosen by the San Diego Chargers in 2004 before being traded to the New York Giants, where he won two Super Bowls.
Manning won the 2003 Maxwell Award given to the best all-around player in college football and finished third in the 2003 Heisman Trophy vote.
